Jungala 2012| Review The Music

Major apologies for the lateness of this review but due to reasons that I’m not to sure of, I was only able to think as of Thursday evening.

My dear friend Matty Wise has given an in-depth view into the audio madness that was Jungala 2012. I felt that the music deserved a detailed breakdown, as it was the best I’ve had the opportunity of hearing this manic season.

Enter the…. um…. opening.

Let me just start off by stating that I’m only going to be commenting on what I was there for. I got to the party only at about 2 AM Sunday morning, I am well aware there were some killer acts before then which I won’t be able to review purely because I wasn’t there. Apologies in advance to all those people expecting a review of every set and to the artists whose sets I didn’t manage to see, and therefore won’t be able to speak about. I’m sure you all tore that place to shreds!

It started off for me with the end of Skarab vs Biorhythm, I caught the last few tracks and judging by what I was seeing around me, they had laid that dancefloor to waste, as is usually the case whenever Biorhythm are involved. Its twisted metallic psychedelic elements and powerful basslines that characterised the act’s sound.

Critical Mass, who I know has been hard at work on various different projects over the past few months and it was all on display during his set at this party. Dark night-time beats, raw full-on power and that exhilarating melodic twilight sound were all brought together for this set. He’s a skilled producer and what I was most impressed with is how he showcased all of that production variation in one set. I think this was more of a combination of Critical Mass and Iron Lotus; in fact it was probably mostly an Iron Lotus sound, which suits that time of the night better than a Critical Mass set would have, so credit to the organisers and to Daniel for getting that right.

Next up was Chemogen and I was quite excited – as despite going to parties for quite a while now – this was the first time I was going to see him play. What added to the excitement was the fact that I have noticed an increase in the popularity and profile of this guy over the last 18 months or so, and I’m quite shocked it has taken me this long to catch one his sets. I was very impressed. Sick eerie rolling basslines coupled brilliantly with tuneful psychedelic elements, and all at just the right level of intensity for that particular timeslot at that party.

Tuneraider was next and her set started off nicely as she played some proper early-morning slammers for us. She was playing a really good set but unfortunately I didn’t manage to catch any more of it other than the start as tiredness started to catch up and a little early morning chill and power nap was on the cards.

What I liked about the music at night was the levels of intensity. It was just right. For my personal taste anyway, which I do appreciate is very different from many other people. It was never too hard or aggressive but at the same time had the perfect up-tempo psychedelic groove which helped Jungala 2012 convey exactly the kind of atmosphere the organisers had wanted it to.

As the sun started rising we made our way back to the dancefloor and caught the last few tracks of Up-Psy-Down’s set. Again I was quite impressed; there were some really good tracks at the end of that set. This is the 2nd time I had caught glimpses of an Up-Psy-Down set, the last time was Rezonance, and I must say I dig that early morning uplifting sound and Up-Psy-Down have got it down.

Now what happened next really was something to cherish and behold forever, and the beauty of it is not many people at the time realised just what was happening or how amazing what they were hearing was, and how much time, work and dedication went into producing one of the best sounds and delivering one of the best sets that I and anyone else who was there has ever seen. What most people don’t realise is that despite this being only his 3rd set, Peter Lehto aka Mad Piper is not new to producing. He’s been learning how to make music, started producing, working on his project and honed his skills (and boy does he have skills!) for upwards of 5 years now.

Wow! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!!! I think the best way to describe that set is overwhelming; I was just overwhelmed by its sheer brilliance. I was at Zone Festival last year when he played his live debut set, and it was very good, but he only played to about 400 or 500 people, it wasn’t really the best time for him to play and before this party I think he was still a relative unknown entity in Cape Town psy lore. Not any more. This was the proper introduction; it was epic. Now we know, in no uncertain terms, what a beast Mad Piper really is. This oke is playing music from the future! It’s also really good to see someone put in the time, dedication and effort to create something amazing and get the reward they deserve; and I would imagine for Peter the reward must have been the reaction of that crowd, people were going wild. It was utter chaos. You know you’ve done exceptionally well when that’s how people react when they hear your music. Keep up the excellent work Pipes, cannot wait for the next one.

After Piper was Orca. By popular demand Orca had his timeslot moved from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. I was slightly disappointed with this initially, as I knew I’d only be at the party from Sunday and I was keen to catch the international acts I hadn’t already seen, who were now moved to the Saturday morning to accommodate Orca on Sunday. That disappointment evaporated quickly however; as Orca proceeded to play the best set I’ve seen him play. It was too sick!

After him were the dynamic duo Blazed, comprising Twisted Reaction and Zorflux, two acts who had played separately on Saturday morning. I was bleak to have missed those two sets but this one really did make up for it. It was twisted, melodic, high-octane stuff that was quite psychedelic with a very nice daytime groove. These guys really know what they’re doing.

SiLo, who I have a lot of time and respect for, as to me he seems to be one of the artists who are cognisant of the ever evolving nature of electronic music, and the sets he plays seem to reflect that. He ripped it up here at Jungala. It was still quite full-on but it was getting more progressive at stages, which personally is exactly what I want to hear by 2ish on the Sunday afternoon. Whether we like it or not, the scene is ever evolving and changing, and it is quite refreshing to come across acts like SiLo who are embracing and moving with that change.

Headroom and Gokon Rave played the last two sets respectively. What more can we say about Adam Metcalfe that hasn’t been said already? I could come up with good things to say about the set he played at Jungala, but I don’t actually want to start because it might take quite a long time before I’m able to stop. It was incredible. Just a further bit of evidence we can add to the case for Headroom being one of the world’s most sought after producers. It’s quite easy to see why the organisers of globally renowned festivals such as Ozora and Boom as well as others have showed so much interest in trying to get them to play at their parties.

Gokon Rave closed things off with a sick groovy, bouncy way to end of the day. As I said earlier, the scene is ever-evolving, and closing sets like this are going to become more commonplace, and as a fan of progressive psy and someone who digs Gokon Rave, I was in my element! Judging by how many people stayed and jammed hard right until the end, it seems others were as well.

So that’s my take on what happened at Jungala in terms of the music. All in all I thought the music was amazing. I thought the rig was great and the overall quality of the music was just incredible. I also loved the variation between all the artists, yet still the same overall atmosphere of the party that was intended to be conveyed through the music was achieved. Big ups to the organisers and all the artists; and one final word for my set of the party and new hero…take a bow Mad Piper!

Hmmm… now I’m sort of stumped on what to say… Matty hasn’t really left me with much to talk about the party but I suppose with the good must come the bad.

Well its not bad as it has nothing to do with the organisers of this event and others like it but worth a mention cause we all think it but I’m just going to pop it in the old black and white so its for real real. Keep the toughness at the gym or in the cage. I have no problem with getting involved when I attend these gauntlets of dust and I understand its closing time for bushravers seasonal shenanigans but I cant fathom to think why people would travel from their respective homes, pay entrance to an awesome event, have a little too much fun and lose all morals as well as respect for others. There’s no high horsing here, just the truth. We all come to these events to enjoy ourselves, and if making everyone else around you have a shit time is enjoyable then I am not quite sure. Rather just don’t. It’s better for everybody. I’m not singling peeps out as it solves nothing but have seen this growing need to taint such a marvelous day out with the stains of worry and regret. A little bit of respect goes a long long way.

Now that the fun parts over I would like to thank Psynoptikz for a great production. Aside from the horde it was an excellently put together event. It saddens me that it was the second last one of the season.

So go and hibernate, lick your wounds, play some mind stimulating games, eat, drink out of a glass, sleep plenty and prepare yourself to do it all over again in a couple of months.

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Rumoured to have the blue-prints for Krang's TechnoDrome, stolen straight from Dimension X, he’s the type of guy who exudes so much coolness that he adds whole countries on Facebook at one time instead of just people.
Always up for a party and a Tequila shot or two this is the guy who we always call first, both before and after a night out…

just wana make a slight correction…I didnt pick up on this at the time, as I was only on the dancefloor for about 10 minutes of their set, but it was Skarab vs Skragg, not Skarab vs Biorhythm… I didnt notice at the time and no one pointed it out to me after the party, apologies for the error.

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